Basin Recreation moving forward on US 40 underpass

Basin Recreation could construct a pedestrian overpass on State Road 224 just north of Bear Hollow Drive near the Blue Roof 7-Eleven. This rendering is what the overpass could look like, although the firm PEC will study whether an underpass is feasible. (Photo courtesy of Basin Recreation)

The Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District made progress on two key projects at its last board meeting, the US 40 pedestrian and wildlife underpass and the State Road 224 pedestrian passage near Parley’s Park Elementary School.

Basin Recreation District Director Rena Jordan said they had entered into a cooperative agreement with the Utah Department of Transportation for the US 40 underpass, which would be located near the UDOT road shed in the Silver Summit area.

Under the agreement, UDOT would maintain the underpass and road areas while Basin Recreation would be responsible for trails, Jordan said. With the help of a Recreation, Arts and Parks joint tax grant between Park City and Summit County, the remaining $400,000 needed for the project was secured.

Basin Recreation also approved a contract with a firm called PEC, to study options for a potential pedestrian crossing on S.R. 224 near Bear Hollow Drive. Jordan said the passage, which could be either an overpass or an underpass, is crucial for providing a safe route on S.R. 224 for students of Parley’s Park Elementary.

"We know that there are some major challenges to going under [S.R. 224] because there are streams under the roadway that have, in the past, impeded any efforts to go forward [on a project]," Jordan said.

Jordan added that she has received about 50/50 good and bad input on both an underpass and an overpass at that location. She worries that if the pedestrian passage is moved too far from that intersection, it may not get used as often.

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"Sun Peak has a strong contingent of moms who want to make that connection," Jordan said. "The main purpose is to make safe trail connections. If it costs double to go under, we’re going to figure out if we can do it, but we don’t have that much money left from [our] bond funds."

Those trail bond funds are left over from 2010, and Basin Recreation has pledged those monies to go to this project.

Using other bridges in the area as models, Basin Recreation said the S.R. 224 overpass could be constructed using stone, wood and metal materials, very similar to the Town Bridge spanning Park Avenue. It would not look like the Interstate 80 overpass, Jordan emphasized.

PEC will begin studying the S.R. 224 project area once the snow melts, and Jordan said the district would like to have the project ready enough to present to the Basin Recreation Administrative Control Board by June.